Well, they definitely stole some ideas from the MMO's and from their own miniatures game. But they seem to be cherry picking, not just following fads. Yes, D&D is supposed to help sales of the D&D Miniatures game... in fact more minis are sold for D&D than for the miniatures game so that really makes a lot of sense.
The racial specialization is really through racial feats which enhance or add racially themed powers. We'll have the rest of the classes we're used to next year, but the power system kind of causes classes to use a lot of pages in the book.
I find it a little weird that you object to epic destinies because they are too rigid when one of the four epic destinies, Eternal Seeker, has versatility as its primary benefit. It is true that Archmage and Deadly Trickster are fairly specialized, but Demigod should work well for any character, and Eternal Seeker actually allows you to choose powers from any class list.
Power cards work really well in lieu of a cheat sheet, since you can turn them over to indicate when they've been used.
I personally like the skill changes, but I miss profession and craft skills. My current game allows you to pick a talent, profession or craft, and gives you a +5 if you are making an ability check related to the chosen specialty. When you write a module or adventure in 3.5, if you include a skill check it is very easy, especially at high levels, to set a DC that is impossible to make unless someone in the party specialized in that skill. The change to skills fixes that problem, a party with no one trained simply has a harder time with that obstacle.
Heroic tier feats are much weaker in 4th edition. Power choices are what really distinguish characters and feats are a little added bonus. Then again, you get more of them and when you look at the higher tiers and remember the retraining option they start to look more attractive.
There are a number of heroic tier feats that everyone can use. For example most characters should either take Quick Draw or Improved Initiative; you don't want both since the initiative bonus doesn't stack, but both are excellent feats. Skill Training and Skill Focus are solid choices. Durable, Toughness, Alertness, and Defensive Mobility will work for anyone. And of course you can upgrade your armor options or choose to dabble in multiclassing.
For your dual wielding Ranger you should definitely take Two Weapon Fighting, Two Weapon Defense, and Weapon Focus. Oh, and Lethal Hunter, Agile Hunter and Precise Hunter are all good if you qualify. So I think you should have enough options to keep you in feats for a few more levels.
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2008-07-16 03:19 pm (UTC)The racial specialization is really through racial feats which enhance or add racially themed powers. We'll have the rest of the classes we're used to next year, but the power system kind of causes classes to use a lot of pages in the book.
I find it a little weird that you object to epic destinies because they are too rigid when one of the four epic destinies, Eternal Seeker, has versatility as its primary benefit. It is true that Archmage and Deadly Trickster are fairly specialized, but Demigod should work well for any character, and Eternal Seeker actually allows you to choose powers from any class list.
Power cards work really well in lieu of a cheat sheet, since you can turn them over to indicate when they've been used.
I personally like the skill changes, but I miss profession and craft skills. My current game allows you to pick a talent, profession or craft, and gives you a +5 if you are making an ability check related to the chosen specialty. When you write a module or adventure in 3.5, if you include a skill check it is very easy, especially at high levels, to set a DC that is impossible to make unless someone in the party specialized in that skill. The change to skills fixes that problem, a party with no one trained simply has a harder time with that obstacle.
Heroic tier feats are much weaker in 4th edition. Power choices are what really distinguish characters and feats are a little added bonus. Then again, you get more of them and when you look at the higher tiers and remember the retraining option they start to look more attractive.
There are a number of heroic tier feats that everyone can use. For example most characters should either take Quick Draw or Improved Initiative; you don't want both since the initiative bonus doesn't stack, but both are excellent feats. Skill Training and Skill Focus are solid choices. Durable, Toughness, Alertness, and Defensive Mobility will work for anyone. And of course you can upgrade your armor options or choose to dabble in multiclassing.
For your dual wielding Ranger you should definitely take Two Weapon Fighting, Two Weapon Defense, and Weapon Focus. Oh, and Lethal Hunter, Agile Hunter and Precise Hunter are all good if you qualify. So I think you should have enough options to keep you in feats for a few more levels.